Pentecostal presence

God the Father created the world.

God the Son redeemed it.

God the Holy Spirit lives in it.

The three, loving manifestations of the one and only God of the universe. And the climax of it all is that God LIVES WITH US. The in-dwelling of God in all of creation. This is the meaning of what we are celebrating today, Pentecost Sunday. A habitual, inner awareness of this in our hearts is no less than a way of life, a spirituality that we all need so badly in our country, as well as in the whole world. As I have said before, this lifestyle is a renewal of the mystics of the past - from Meister Eckhart to St. Francis of Assisi to St. Ignatius of Loyola.

“Every creature is a book about God and is full of God.” (M. Eckhart). “Praised be my Lord God with all his creatures . . . for our brother the sun . . . our sister the moon . . . our mother the earth, which sustains us and keeps us . . . ” (St. Francis of Assisi). “Ponder with great affection how God dwells in creatures, giving them life. And how he dwells in me, and makes a temple of me, created in his image.” (Spir. Ex. of St. Ignatius, #235).

Going all the way back to Sacred Scripture: “God created man in his image, male and female he created them.” (Gen. 1: 27). “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.” (1 Cor. 3: 16-17).

Nowadays, tourists spend money to experience the beauty of God’s creation, from Boracay to Palawan. But they may miss the divine presence in their very persons. As St. Augustine of Hippo once said: “People go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compasses of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.”

The science of the human body and the wonder of it all. The way our mind, heart, and body are orchestrated together in harmony to form our person is a mystery all its own. How the nerves, arteries, muscles, and bones are so placed so that each one has a function that contributes to the wholeness of the person is simply fantastic. Every ordinary person is no less than a walking miracle of God’s presence as Creator. And how many such persons are there in the world at this moment of time?

One morning four weeks ago, I was about to start a seminar-session when I suddenly got very dizzy and collapsed. They rushed me to the hospital, and after some days, I underwent a coronary angioplasty, my third since 2003. My family was there with their ever-loving care and concern that touched my heart to the core. Indeed, there is no substitute for one’s family, when it comes to God’s loving presence in human form. And what about those nurses and caregivers who took care of me in such gentle and dedicated ways? Were they doing all that just to earn their keep? You tell me. Last but not least was the concerned and very competent cardiologist who performed the angioplasty on my left artery. Did he do all that just for the money involved? In fact, he refused to charge me at all! But we insisted on giving him a discounted professional fee, in the name of God’s loving justice.

Yes. God’s loving presence, in so many ways, is here, within each one of us and all around us. One just has to be aware and respond to God the Holy Spirit with one’s own love in return. The language of the heart.

As of today, we are the only country in the world that has no divorce law. Annulments and legal separations are allowed, but not divorce, which is the invalidation of a valid marriage. A valid marriage is a covenant for life between two spouses who experience authentic love for each other. This means to love my spouse as I love myself, and vice-versa. When lived in God’s sustaining presence, the couple can go through marital conflicts and crises and still come out with an even stronger love than ever before. Who knows? In his divine providence, God may be missioning us as a nation to witness to the secularistic, ego-centered cultures that it is indeed possible and doable — a country without divorce. The only marital love-triangle that does not end in disaster: husband, wife, and God.

And for all of us, it is indeed our lifelong mission to be contemplatives-in-action. It is worth every effort that we make, for it is the only meaning of human life. To live in God’s loving presence in one’s life, and to keep responding according to our time, talents, and treasures — this is the mission of Pentecost for each one of us.